Entries tagged with: LupeFiasco

Alabama's Hangout Music Festival returns from May 15-17, and the lineup's just been expanded. Joey Bada$$, Sylvan Esso, JEFF the Brotherhood, Sam Smith, Natural Child and more were added to the fest, joining Foo FIghters, Beck, My Morning Jacket, Spoon, TV on the Radio, Jenny Lewis, Future Islands, Father John Misty and more. Tickets are on sale now.

The FADER always has some year-end coverage, but for the past 15 years they didn't publish a ranked year-end list. This year however, they ranked their 116 favorite songs of 2014 (find out why) and it's a diverse list that manages to sing the praises of iLoveMakonnen, Tinashe, Alex G, Florida Georgia Line, Enrique Iglesias, Bleachers, Ricky Eat Acid, YG, Toni Braxton & Babyface, Nothing, Grimes, Parquet Courts, Run the Jewels and Grouper all in the same damn list.

Ab-Soul's been talking about his new album These Days... for a while now, and it finally came out today (6/24) via TDE (not Interscope). Like his fellow Black Hippy members Schoolboy Q and Kendrick Lamar did with their recent albums, you can tell Soulo went all out here and really wanted to make an "album" with multiple interludes, smartly placed guest spots, and well-executed transitions from song to song. Kendrick and Schoolboy Q appear on the LP, as do Danny Brown, Action Bronson, Lupe Fiasco, Jay Rock, SZA, Jhene Aiko and more, plus excellent production from Corin Roddick of Purity Ring, DJ Dahi of Pac Div, J. Cole, Dave Free, Sounwave, and Tae Beast of TDE regulars Digi+Phonics and more.

Ab-Soul's love of drug references and tripped-out sounds are all over the record, but it's not a one tricky pony drug-rap album or anything. Like good kid, m.A.A.d. city and Oxymoron, there are the songs for your headphones, the songs for parties/live shows, and plenty that go both ways. He quotes Drake, mimics Chief Keef, and shouts out a particular trip to New York: "I'm on my way to NYC, last time I was there I swear I sold out SOB's." Presumably he's referring to this show.

More pics from Day 1 HERE and HERE, pics from Day 2 pics HERE and HERE; and pics from Day 3 are HERE and HERE, Slayer included....

Closing Fun Fun Fun Fest, Slayer treated Austin to greatest hits and then some: "Raining Blood," "South of Heaven," "Dead Skin Mask," "Seasons in the Abyss," etc. They also dug out the aforementioned "Die by the Sword," a high point off their 1983 debut LP, Show No Mercy.

After fooling no one with a false ending of "South of Heaven," the third backdrop of the night unfurled at the back of the stage: a parody of the Heineken logo reading "Hanneman" and bearing his life dates. The top read "Angel of Death." Reign in Blood's terrifying opening track - and closing number on Auditorium Shores - now serves as an epitaph for Slayer's fallen co-founder. - [Austin Chronicle]

The eighth Fun Fun Fun Fest happened last weekend (11/8 - 11/10) at Austin's Auditorium Shores, hosting three days of music and fun (fun fun), with such acts as MIA, Deerhunter, Slayer, Television, Thee Oh Sees, Kurt Vile, Cut Copy. Johnny Marr, The Walkmen, Jurassic 5, Killer Mike and loads more. Many of them played again as part of the FFF Nites shows, including shows presented by BrooklynVegan and Invisible Oranges.

We were there in the thick of it and, as mentioned above, you can check out pics from Day 1 HERE and HERE, pics from Day 2 pics HERE and HERE; and pics from Day 3 are HERE and HERE. See you again in 2014 Austin.

Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco has announced that he'll release his fifth album, Tetsuo and Youth, in early 2014. Ahead of that, he'll be going on an extensive tour of the US and Canada that comes to the NYC-area for shows at NJ's Wellmont Theater on December 7, NYC's Irving Plaza on December 9 and 10, and Long Island's Paramount on December 13. Tickets for those shows go on sale today (10/4) at 10 AM.

Jazz/hip hop pianist Robert Glasper is set to release the followup to his excellent 2012 album, Black Radio with a sequel, Black Radio 2, on October 29 via Blue Note. Like its predecessor, the new album has an all-star cast of guests including Common, Marsha Ambrosius, Jill Scott, Brandy, Snoop Dogg, Lupe Fiasco, Emeli Sande, Norah Jones, Faith Evans, Bilal, Jean Grae, Macy Gray, and more. Its lead single is the track "Calls," which features the cooing neo-soul vocals of Jill Scott. That can be streamed, along with the album tracklist, below. That's the artwork above.

UPDATE: Robert released another single from the album, "I Stand Alone," which features Common and Patrick Stump. That can also be streamed (via Rolling Stone) below.

In celebration of the new album, Robert and two of its guests, Common and Marsha Ambrosius, will be doing some shows around the time of its release. One of those happens in NYC the day the record comes out at Best Buy Theater (10/29). Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (9/27) at noon.

This letter, signed by a ton of artists and pictured above, is set to appear in an ad in Billboard:

We are big fans of Pandora. That's why we helped give the company a discount on rates for the past decade.

Pandora is now enjoying phenomenal success as a Wall Street company. Skyrocketing growth in revenues and users. We celebrate that. At the same time, the music community is just now beginning to gain its footing in the new digital world.

Pandora's principal asset is the music.

Why is the company asking Congress once again to step in and gut the royalties that thousands of musicians rely upon? That's not fair, and that's not how partners work together.
Congress has many pressing issues to consider, but this is not one of them. Let's work this out as partners and continue to bring fans the great musical experience they rightly expect.

Pink Floyd, Down, Primus, Dead Kennedys (with our without Jello?), Nas, Alabama, Sheryl Crow and many more big major label names signed this (or someone signed it on their behalf). Check out the full list below, and head to fairpayforartists.com for more information on their point of view..

Chief Keef scares me. Not him specifically, but just the culture that he represents. Specifically in Chicago. And I don't speak this about any other city because I'm not from there. But like my family lives in Chicago. So my nephews, my cousins, my friends, and my peoples they all in those hoods that he represents. When you drive through Chicago...The hoodlums, the gangsters, and the ones you see killing each other. And the murder rate in Chicago is skyrocketing and you see who's doing it and perpetrating it, they all look like Chief Keef.

You can watch the video interview with Lupe below.

In related news, Chief Keef recently dropped the track "Appreciation" off of his upcoming mixtape, Finally Rich. You can stream the track below.

The Firefly Music Festival continued in Dover, DE on Saturday (7/21) with sets from Modest Mouse, Polica, Cults, Charles Bradley, Lupe Fiasco, Cake, The Killers, and more. Passion Pit were scheduled to play that day, but unfortunately the Delware festival was one of the dates that the band had to cancel. They were replaced by Yeasayer at the last minute, who played at the same time as Lupe Fiasco (and we unfortunately missed).

The festival has already announced they'll be back next year. Pre-sale for 2013 general admission tickets go on sale Wednesday (7/25) at noon.

Pics of day 1 are HERE, pics of Death Cab for Cutie's set from day 3 are HERE (the rest from day 3 coming soon) and more of day 2 are below...

Jazz pianist/producer Robert Glasper released his fifth studio album, Black Radio, earlier this year on Blue Note Records. Recorded with his new band, Robert Glasper Experiment, it features an impressive array of guests, including Erykah Badu, Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def), Lupe Fiasco, Bilal, Musiq Soulchild, Chrisette Michele, and more.

In addition to a number of originals, the album includes some heavily re-arranged covers including Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," David Bowie's "Letter to Hermoine," Sade's "Cherish the Day," and Afro-Cuban standard "Afro Blue." The album effortlessly brings together jazz, hip hop, soul and R&B, more so than most others that attempt similar feats. Check out some videos from the album and a live video of the Robert Glasper Experiment playing John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" below, along with a spotify stream of Black Radio.

Firefly Music Festival goes down in Dover, Delaware from July 20-22 (which is only about a three hour drive from NYC). The lineup includes Jack White, The Flaming Lips, Passion Pit, The Black Keys, Polica, Cults, Death Cab for Cutie, Ra Ra Riot, The Felice Brothers, Mariachi El Bronx, Silversun Pickups, Lupe Fiasco, The Head and the Heart, Heartless Bastards, The Killers, John Legend, Bassnectar, Girl Talk, and more. Tickets for the fest are on sale now, and camping is available.

KahBang Festival is returning to Bangor, Maine from August 5-14, with music on August 12 and 13 and the kickoff concert on August 6. Bands playing include My Morning Jacket, Lupe Fiasco, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Chromeo, Surfer Blood, Atmosphere, DOM, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, and many others. Tickets are on sale now. Flyer below.

3-night camping passes are available too which include entry to the 2-day music festival, admission to the film fest, and entry to the campsite night stage (11pm-3am).

On the fence about going? WANT TO WIN FOUR TICKETS AND CAMPING??? We're offering the chance. Details on how to enter, with more details on the fest too, below.

Bun B will join DJ Clark Kent & DJ Greg Street for a FREE show at Good Units on May 17th in celebration of "online sneaker community Sneakerpedia". RSVP now for free entry.

I'm guessing that Bun B, who is also a co-professor of a course on Ethics & Hip Hop at Rice University, won't use the forum to speak on Religion and Hip Hop culture or a career in the music industry like he has done in recent months, but we'll let you know if that changes. Check out Bun B discussing the illuminati, ethics, and the war, with Talib Kweli, Lupe Fiasco and Russell Simmons at recent Rice University events, in videos below.

And speaking of Talib Kweli (who has his own free show coming up), maybe he'll be at Brooklyn Bowl to perform with Jean again, like he just did on his tour that included an April 28th show at SOB's and didn't include a May 4th show at Sonar in Baltimore. Watch a video of Talib and Jean on stage together (and covering Nina Simone) on May 3rd in DC (you can hear them advertise the not-cancelled-yet Sonar show at the even of the video), also below...

"The vibrant personality his students loved is evident in his faculty webpage on the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Cultures website. Besides his academic focus on linguistics, heritage language teaching, poetics, the arts of the Harlem Renaissance and the history of language, Calvo said that his "other areas of interest" included the music of Greg Ogsby and Lupe Fiasco, photography and "hiking and excursions from Montauk to Rhode Island's coast, stopping at Block Island."

Lupe Fiasco's "Lasers" album finally will be released to the public this Tuesday. It's been a long time coming -- his last record was "The Cool" in 2007 -- but it's not at all the album the Chicago rapper wanted to make. His valiant attempts to buck up and promote it are downbeat and disheartening. When I first chatted with Fiasco during some down time last week in New York City, I congratulated him on the album's first single, "The Show Goes On," which had just gone gold (selling 500,000 singles). He huffed, his whole attitude was "whatever" as he responded: "It's their record. My words, their music. They forced this song to be a No. 1 single, and that's what they got. I can't take any credit for it."

He's referring to Atlantic Records, the once historic label (founded by Ahmet Ertegun) that is now a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. According to Fiasco, various players at Atlantic thwarted his artistic mission on this, his third album for the label -- a process that dragged on for three years and ended only when several hundred fans scheduled a protest last October in downtown Chicago and outside the label's New York City offices. -[Chicago Sun-Times]

Regardless of Lupe Fiasco's feelings on Lasers, the Chicago MC gave a highly-energetic performance as he celebrated its release last night, 3/7, at a sold-out headlining NYC show at Webster Hall. Special guests included John Legend, Sway, and Dosage. Black Milk, who also opens the upcoming Roseland show, opened the night.

If you didn't get tickets for Webster Hall, that means you are free and clear to check out Raekwon at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 3/8 (tickets). The show is a record release party for the Wu-Tang great, as Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang will drop the same day as Lasers (March 8). Raekwon recently dropped a new video for title track and a new song, "Molasses" featuring Ghostface and Rick Ross. Download "Molasses" above or stream it below alongside the new video.

Pharoahe Monch has a new disc on the way, W.A.R. (We Are Renegades), and he'll celebrate that with a March 24th show at SOBs. Ticket info is forthcoming. W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) is due via Duck Down on 3/22 and features "Clap" available for download above and streaming below.

And last but not least, Southpaw has a couple of interesting hip hop shows in the coming weeks including the imperial Rah Digga with Eternia on Thursday (2/24, tickets) and the one and only Big Daddy Kane with Brand Nubian as part of a benefit on March 25th (tickets).

Lupe Fiasco is currently in Australia as part of the Big Day Out Festival, touring with names like Iggy Pop, Deftones, Grinderman, and countless others. After returning back to the states, he'll get ready to welcome his new LP Lasers into this world, due on March 8th. The Chicago MC will celebrate the release with a date at Webster Hall the night before it hits the streets and tickets go on sale at noon today (1/28). Lupe recently released the first single from the LP, the Modest Mouse-sampling "The Show Must Go On" via iTunes.

Tickets also go on sale at noon for Rick Ross at Best Buy Theater on March 4th, and fortunately if you can't make that show you can make it out to see him support Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj at Nassau Coliseum on March 27th as part of the I Am Music II tour. Ticket info for that show hasn't been released yet. All dates below.

Those of you who want to see Lil Wayne but might prefer to see him in a much (much) different setting than the third of three hip hop acts (instead with Motley Crue, Waka Flocka Flame, Insane Clown Posse & Bruno Mars?) can catch the recently freed MC at Bamboozle 2011 in New Jersey. Tickets are still available for the festival in multi-day, and single day pass increments.

And lets say, for some godforsaken reason you felt like a double dose of Insane Clown Posse.... that can be arranged. Insane Clown Posse has taken time off of their busy wrestling schedule to shower New York City with Faygo on April 29th at Gramercy Theater. Tickets are still available all of you Juggalos and Juggalettes!

James Lavelle & Pablo Clements will take UNKLE out on the road for a string of dates that will include three US dates (so far) and only one on the east coast. The NYC show is Webster Hall on October 23rd (during CMJ). Ticket info is forthcoming.

The US dates take place a month after Unkle releases their new and chock-full-of-guests EP, The Answer due on September 28th and featuring appearances from Tim Goldsworthy (ex-Unkle, current DFA), Lupe Fiasco, and Sleepy Sun among others. The EP has also spawned a pair of videos including the title track which is directed by The Proposition / The Road director John Hillcoat and features The Departed actor Ray Winstone. View both vids below. PreorderThe Answer EP now on limited edition 12" vinyl or limited edition CD, as the physical US release will only be available via the band.

On Tuesday, August 4, AEG Live will be presenting soul-songstress ERYKAH BADU as the first of a number of summer shows at The BEACH at Governors Island, a new 3000-capacity waterfront venue in one of New York City's most historic locations...

...Other shows on AEG's line-up for THE BEACH at Governors Island include Badfish: A Tribute To Sublime on Saturday, August 29; N.E.R.D. with special guest Asher Roth on Wednesday, September 9; Lupe Fiasco on Friday, September 11; and Brazilian Girls on Friday, October 2. Tickets for the August/September shows are on sale now; Brazilian Girls on sale next Friday, August 14 at 12pm.

Lasers are the opposite of losers. Lasers are shining beams of light that burn through the darkness of ignorance. Lasers shed light on injustice and inequality. Losers stand by and let things happen. Lasers act and shape their own destinies. Lasers find meaning and direction in the mysteries all around them. Lasers stand for love and compassion. Lasers stand for peace. Lasers stand for progression. Lasers are revolutionary.

Lupe Fiasco's new album "Lasers" will be released later this year. The first single "Shining Down" will be released Tuesday (7/7). Lupe has a show scheduled in St Louis in August, and two in NY in September. On 9/11, he'll play the new Beach on Governors Island (which has its first show this Saturday - the 11th), and then the next day he plays SUNY's Dewar Arena in Oneonta. Tickets for the NYC show go on sale Friday at noon. All dates below...